TM Insider 222

The TravelMole Insider – Issue 222
ISSN 1474-2292
20 August 2002
https://www.travelmole.com

A message from EyeForTravel:
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LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS
1. Analyst predicts US airline failure
2. TravelMole Interview: Peter Shanks, senior v-p, Cunard Line
3. No-frills carriers damaging domestic tourism
4. Princess acquires Renaissance ships
5. Easyjet rationalises Belfast to Scotland services
6. Aviation deal to open up Heathrow
7. Air travel on the mend
8. KLM to launch service to Trondheim, Norway
9. Virgin Atlantic doubles its programme to the Caribbean
10. OTC set for Asia Pacific expansion
11. Tyche Tours Ltd to go into liquidation
12. ‘One Year On’ theme for Advantage business travel conference
13. Northern Ireland agency signs with Amadeus
14. Worldspan promotes Ficco
15. Galileo signs global agreement with SAP
16. Dolphin Dynamics adds MyTravelLite to FlightScanner
17. Agent bonus for booking BA
18. MyTravelLite claims strong response to launch
19. Cendant boosts its hotel inventory
20. ‘The State of the South African Hospitality Industry’
21. ETC selects DestiCorp for new media strategy
22. WTO on tourism’s contribution to poverty alleviation at WSSD
23. Site of the Week: Responsibletravel.com

COMMENT by Jeremy Skidmore
Following the launch of MyTravelLite, aviation experts are
starting to wonder whether the gravy train for low-cost carriers
is coming to an end.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88000

The so-called no-frills airlines have been a roaring success in
recent years. Small wonder when customers, who were used to
paying several hundred pounds to fly to Europe, were offered
flights for a fraction of that price provided they were prepared
to give up a three-course meal.

But there are now signs that the spectacular growth of the low-
cost airlines is coming to an end. Even Ryanair, which has been
a huge success story, has warned analysts to be realistic in
their predictions for its growth in the future.

More carriers, like MyTravelLite, are entering the market,
creating greater competition. And where there is more than one
airline at an airport, prices are bound to be slashed. This
doesn’t mean that MyTravelLite or its competitors can’t
make money. But it will be tougher in the future.

One thing the airlines must do is resist the temptation to start
offering extra add-ons and an improved service to attract
customers. That would add to their cost base and be a recipe for
disaster.

Low-cost airlines must concentrate on what they are good at:
getting customers to a destination on time at a competitive
price.

Jeremy Skidmore

—
Have your say! If you would like to add your thoughts to this
or any other TravelMole article, click on the ‘Add a Comment’
button at the top of the story.

Best wishes
Richard Hammond
mailto:[email protected]

LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS
Breaking Stories: https://www.travelmole.com/news/index.html

1. Analyst predicts US airline failure
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The crisis in the US airline industry will lead to the collapse
of a major carrier, a leading analyst has predicted.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88812

2. TravelMole Interview: Peter Shanks, senior v-p, Cunard Line
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Cunard boss Peter Shanks is planning to use his 12 years of
retail experience to increase sales through the trade.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88794

3. No-frills carriers damaging domestic tourism
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The UK domestic tourism industry is being threatened by the lure
of low-cost holidays abroad, according to an industry expert.
Conflicting views come from the English Tourism Council, which
says domestic tourism is buoyant.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88717

4. Princess acquires Renaissance ships
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US-based P&O Princess Cruises has acquired the former
Renaissance Cruises ships, R3 and R4, through a lease purchase
agreement costing approximately $150 million.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88814

5. Easyjet rationalises Belfast to Scotland services
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Easyjet is dropping Go flights between Belfast and Scotland
following the merger of the two no-frills carriers.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88719

6. Aviation deal to open up Heathrow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The UK Department of Transport has proposed an aviation deal
which would open up Heathrow to more US carriers.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88813

7. Air travel on the mend
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the first time since 11 September, Heathrow and Frankfurt
airports are operating the same number of transatlantic flights
as this time last year. According to OAG, a review of airline
schedules for August shows there has been improvements in US and
UK markets, although the US remains slower to recover.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88698

8. KLM to launch service to Trondheim, Norway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced today the launch of twice
daily round-trip service between Amsterdam and the Norwegian
city of Trondheim.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88712

9. Virgin Atlantic doubles its programme to the Caribbean
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Virgin Atlantic Airways has announced that it plans to launch
direct weekly services between London Gatwick and Tobago and
Grenada and is also planning to launch a weekly Manchester
Barbados service.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88785

10. OTC set for Asia Pacific expansion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Online Travel Corporation (OTC), has signalled its intention to
expand further into the Asia Pacific region following the
purchase of leading travel retailer Sydney Travel Centre.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88786

11. Tyche Tours Ltd to go into liquidation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABTA has announced that Tyche Tours Ltd trading as Fairlink
Christian Travel has convened a Meeting of Creditors in order to
go into liquidation.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88528

12. ‘One Year On’ theme for Advantage business travel conference
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘One Year On’ has been announced as the theme for this year’s
Advantage Business Travel Conference, which will look back at
the issues over the last year and focus on the challenges in the
future.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88518

13. Northern Ireland agency signs with Amadeus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
McNeill Rigby has dropped Galileo and signed up with Amadeus.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88710

14. Worldspan promotes Ficco
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Worldspan has appointed Kevin Ficco as vice-president of Airline
Distribution and Business Development.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88714

15. Galileo signs global agreement with SAP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Galileo has signed a global agreement with SAP, the provider of
e-business software solutions, to apply XML Select to the next
version of the SAP corporate self-booking tool.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88603

16. Dolphin Dynamics adds MyTravelLite to FlightScanner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dolphin Dynamics has announced the introduction of MyTravelLite
on FlightScanner, its Web fares search engine for travel agents.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88713

17. Agent bonus for booking BA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gold Medal Travel is offering free British Airways tickets to
travel agents who make return bookings in its economy plus
product.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88705

18. MyTravelLite claims strong response to launch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MyTravelLite, Birmingham’s low fare airline launched last week,
has reported that over 11,000 bookings have already been made.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88613

19. Cendant boosts its hotel inventory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cendant Corporation has bought hotel reservation website
Lodging.com. The acquisition is good news for travel agents
using Galileo, who will receive commissions for booking through
Lodging.com once it has been integrated into Cendant.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88445

20. ‘The State of the South African Hospitality Industry’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The latest Global Hotel Network Report takes a look at “The
State of the South African Hospitality Industry” from the
perspective of Willem Fick, Executive Director, Federated
Hospitality Association of South Africa (FEDHASA).
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88532

21. ETC selects DestiCorp for new media strategy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The European Travel Commission (ETC) has appointed consultants
DestiCorp to work with its New Media Group to prepare and
implement ETC’s new media strategy.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88845

22. WTO on tourism’s contribution to poverty alleviation at WSSD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The World Tourism Organization will be holding a side event
on ‘Tourism and its Contribution to Poverty Alleviation’ at the
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg,
South Africa.
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88503

23. Site of the Week: Responsibletravel.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just in time for the upcoming Johannesburg World Summit on
Sustainable Development, we bring you Brighton-based
ResponsibleTravel.com.

TravelMole reviewer Adrian Mann says: “A refreshing change to
the more usual travel site. It gives a different perspective on
travel that usually goes unmentioned – it’s effects and
consequences on the local inhabitants and environment of the
destinations. The information and advice given is always
practical and relevant, and the site never becomes ‘preachy’ or
moralistic. Highly recommended, and definitely worth a visit.”
Read his full review:
https://www.travelmole.com/item/88843

LATEST PRESS POSTINGS
Atlas Travel insurance join Farebase web portal
Active Hotels management team strengthened
Exodus Systems opens UK Office
e-Travel unveils latest Web Services technology
Call-link’s magic desktop leaves customers spellbound
https://www.travelmole.com/news/press

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